Social work experts to present on family support, assessment

LAWRENCE — A two-part continuing education event on March 25 will connect practicing social workers with training and research from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare.

The hybrid event, “Supporting and Assessing Families,” includes two free social work CEU sessions (3 hours each). The morning session will be at the Kansas State University Salina Campus with a Zoom option available, and the afternoon session will be presented on Zoom, with an option for attendees to convene at KSU Salina for the broadcast.

The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Registration for one or both events can be done through the same form.

The morning session will cover techniques for working with high-conflict families. A clinical social worker and a court mediator will share training and guidance for providing ethical, skillful, knowledgeable social work practice to families in conflict.

Skillful Practice with High-Conflict Families

• Tuesday, March 25
• 9 a.m. to noon
• At KSU-Salina or online via Zoom
• Free
• CEU: 3.0

Speakers for the morning session include:

• Rebeca Sandoval, a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor with more than 20 years of experience working with individuals and families. Sandoval is an assistant professor of practice with the KU School of Social Welfare, teaching in the Salina MSW partnership program between KU and K-State Salina.
• Ronald D. Hagen, who has worked more than 10 years as a Kansas State Supreme Court-approved mediator.

The afternoon session will explore a new measure of familial well-being and its contributions to families’ thriving.

Assessing Family Well-Being

• Tuesday, March 25
• 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• At KSU-Salina or online via Zoom
• Free
• CEU: 3.0

Speakers for the afternoon session include:

• Dr. Whitney Grube, assistant professor at the KU School of Social Welfare.
• Dr. Jared Barton, assistant director of the KU Center for Public Partnerships & Research and evaluation leader of the Family Strong initiative.

“To help families transition from surviving to thriving, we must first understand their realities – their strengths, challenges, and how they perceive themselves within their unique contexts and environments,” Grube said. “By assessing their well-being and the health of their communities, we lay the groundwork for interventions that foster growth, resilience, and long-term success.”

Barton commented on the difficulty of accomplishing this type of assessment.

“Fully understanding how families and communities experience well-being has been an enduring problem for community leaders, service providers, health providers, and researchers alike,” Barton said. “There are so many social, economic, educational, and community factors that contribute to its complexity.”

Despite this, Barton expressed hope for the future.

“We’re very excited to share recent developments in assessing and measuring well-being that can be used not only to understand individual families’ needs but also enhance community and systemic solutions,” Barton said.